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Solar Amendment 1 flames out

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

Amendment 1, the contentious solar-power ballot initiative supported by the state’s investor-owned utilities, pulled an Icarus and melted down. The amendment failed Tuesday night with only 51 percent of the statewide vote. In Florida, proposed amendments must receive no less than 60 percent to pass. Public support for the initiative had cratered in recent months, according to opinion polls, from the low-80s in September to just below the needed 60 percent by last month. That was after opponents barraged it with…

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Tampa Bay Times’ mind-boggling figures in ‘rooftop solar fight’ don’t add up

in Peter/Top Headlines by

Consider the eye-grabbing Tampa Bay Times’ front-page headline Wednesday: $43M spent to limit solar. Beyond the silliness of assuming that every dollar utilities donated this cycle is part of a plot to fight rooftop solar — as if there is nothing else they care about — the story is screwed up six ways to Sunday. If a politician were to use these numbers, PolitiFact would rate them somewhere in the range of Mostly False to Pants on Fire. Let’s start from the top: “Lost…

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Dueling solar amendments likely focus at Tampa Tiger Bay

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Two women closely tied to environmental protection will speak at Tampa Tiger Bay Friday. Janet Dougherty is the head of Hillsborough County’s Environmental Protection Commission. Susan Glickman is the Florida director for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. The matchup is the latest in Tiger Bay’s “can’t miss” series. Glickman is pushing the Floridians for Solar Choice amendment known to environmental activists as “the good solar amendment.” Tiger Bay does not specifically say that the dueling solar amendments being pushed…

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Floridians for Government Accountability is latest group to endorse Smart Solar Amendment

in 2017/Top Headlines by

A statewide group promoting fiscal responsibility at all levels of government is the latest to endorse the solar energy ballot initiative by Consumers for Smart Solar. Floridians for Government Accountability, a corporation formed to educate the public on economic issues, is throwing its support behind the campaign to oppose a “consumer unfriendly” initiative put forth by Floridians for Solar Choice. Opponents of the Solar Choice amendment – which they call “shady” – believe the poorly worded proposal, if passed, would…

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Solar Amendment 1 flames out

Amendment 1, the contentious solar-power ballot initiative supported by the state’s investor-owned utilities, pulled an Icarus and melted down. The

Consumers for Smart Solar posts blockbuster $460K in first month fundraising

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

In the race to expand solar energy in Florida, one side is opening strong by posting blockbuster first-month fundraising numbers, which they credit to a campaign of transparency and diversity. Consumers for Smart Solar, the group behind a proposed solar amendment for the 2016 Florida ballot, announced Monday it raised more than $463,000 in its first month. The group collected $463,045 in July, far outpacing that of rival organization Floridians for Solar Choice. To get an idea of the groundswell of support for Smart…

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Solar Amendment 1 flames out

Amendment 1, the contentious solar-power ballot initiative supported by the state’s investor-owned utilities, pulled an Icarus and melted down. The

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